Writers' Union unveils updated Writer's Bill of Rights for the Digital Age

The Writers' Union of Canada (TWUC) is releasing A Writer's Bill of Rights for the Digital Age: 2.0. It's an updated version of a document unveiled in 2011 with changes based on feedback from writers.

It's largely concerned with protecting the digital rights of writers and ensuring that they receive their fair share of proceeds from the sale of ebooks. It also calls on libraries to buy digital copies only from rightsholders or their approved licensing agencies.

"The Bill is aspirational and directional and will evolve as the landscape changes," says a message from chair Greg Hollingshead.  "We may not get to where we want to be overnight, but we hope that by working with you we will soon be able to assure writers their due rights and incomes in the digital age."

Indigo cashes out of Kobo; CEO Reisman says Indigo will continue innovative changes

Magazine publishers must look with wonder, and a certain amount of dread, on the $315 million deal by Indigo Books & Music to sell its 44% share in e-reader Kobo to Japanese e-commerce firm Rakuten. Thereby, Indigo makes a tidy return on its initial investment in the business, but gets out before the necessity for $100 million plus in capital that would be required to continue to play against large, global participants, according to an interview by Jordan Timm of Canadian Business with CEO Heather Reisman and Kobo CEO Michael Serbinis.

The dread may be because Reisman makes it even more clear that Indigo is moving away from the print-on-paper business to be some other sort of business altogether. 

While publishers continue to rely on Indigo for its dominance in the single copy sales business, Reisman's thoughts clearly continue to be elsewhere and that can't be good.

We must and will fundamentally transform Indigo. The idea of a book retailer as it existed up until the last two years—that option no longer exists. We did two things two years ago: we made the decision to commit to Kobo, and we also made the decision to fully transform Indigo into a whole new kind of retailer and e-tailer, and we are on that track right now. And there’s no doubt that some of that money will be used in that transformation process, both digitally and physically. We caught the wave on e-reading and had a tremendous success with Kobo. I see Indigo as that kind of innovative platform, and we'll do it again.

Whether that innovation includes, or squeezes out, the newsstand is something that will be of very real concern to magazine publishers. Indigo's trajectory over the past two decades was to decimate the independent and small chain bookstore sector; it is no longer there to backstop the magazine single copy business when (if?) Indigo loses interest.

e-Readers estimated to be owned by 12% of U.S. consumers by end of 2012

By 2012, 12% of U.S. adults will have some sort of e-reader -- a Kindle, Sony Reader, NOOK or similar device -- according to estimates by eMarketer. By the end of this year, there will be more than 20 million readers in consumers' hands. The information assumes that there is no sharing of devices, but Nielsen reported last year that about a third of e-reader owners share with at least one other person. Which would make the potential audience significantly bigger.

Is Kobo e-reader a missed opportunity for magazines?

More than a year after it launched, the Kobo e-reader newsstand still does not carry a single Canadian magazine. 

While it offers a range of Canadian newspapers, ranging from the Globe and Mail ($15.95 a month or $0.65 an issue) and the Edmonton Journal ($13.99 a month or $0.55 an issue) the only magazines it offers has not changed or grown and all are U.S.-based. For instance, Harvard Business Review ($7.95 a month), The American Scholar ($7.95), PC magazine ($2.49) or The Nation ($2.49).

Wondering why, and particularly wondering whether there was something that Canadian magazine publishers might want to consider, I sent a note to Michael Serbinis, the chief executive officer of Kobo Inc. Here was part of the exchange:

Q: I'd be interested (for publication) to know why the Kobo e-reader newsstand carries no Canadian magazines, though it does carry a range of Canadian newspapers. I have nothing against Harvard Business Review or The Nation, but why isn't Canadian Business or This Magazine available, too? Does this indicate a lack of interest on the part of readers, or publishers or both?

A: I would love to provide more magazines to customers in Canada e.g. Walrus, Maclean's, Canadian Business are some of my favourites. Some of the challenges:

1. Availability - Not many Canadian magazines are available in digital ePub format by their publishers.

2. Market readiness - related to #1 - The magazine industry is still in flux as to the direction it will take on digital content. Therefore, investing in one approach, only to throw it out in 6 months, is risky.

3. Little customer demand to date. It's not something our customers are jumping up and down for today.

I responded that Maclean's, The Walrus and Canadian Business all have iPad versions available, so it's not so much of a leap. As for a threshold of customer demand  can customers opt for something that is not offered? Are they likely to call you and ask for specific titles? The Kobo e-reader is attractive because it is open source and works across many different platforms. (It is ironic that there seems to be so little appetite for magazines on it, the more because Chapters/Indigo is both a major player in the traditional single copy supply chain and a major shareholder in Kobo.)

While some 150 Canadian magazine publishers are participating in the Digital Newsstand offered by Magazines Canada in collaboration with Zinio, what would the reason be for not pursuing other options such as Kobo? Comments welcomed...
Kobo has announced a new edition of its reader that has  easier-to-navigate "touch screen" version of the reader.

the new Kobo eReader Touch Edition features an amazing new Real Touch ‘page turn’ experience. Now easily turn pages by swiping or tapping the new Pearl 6” eInk technology 16 level grey screen that provides a superb, high contract reading experience even in bright sunlight.

the new Kobo eReader Touch Edition features an amazing new Real Touch ‘page turn’ experience. Now easily turn pages by swiping or tapping the new Pearl 6” eInk technology 16 level grey screen that provides a superb, high contract reading experience even in bright sunlight.

An educated editorial staff could, and should, share in revenue, b2b publishers says

Editors traditionally are believed not to "do" the finance thing or involve themselves much in the business side, though the editorial silo was always more porous on the trade publishing side. But would editors do a better job if they understood the business models of their magazines or if they shared in the revenue?

Maurice Bakley, chief operating officer of FierceMarkets, a b2b e-media company with brands in the telecom, life sciences, healthcare, finance and enterprise IT industries promotes the idea that metrics can inform and incentivize editors.He told an an American Business Media webinar [reported by emedia vitals] this week that part of the content strategy is to educate the editorial staff about how content fuels revenue. 

It might sound simple, but many reporters weren't exactly trained to understand the business side of journalism or be involved in revenue-related discussion. Bakley said Fierce informs its editors about how content drives visitors, leading to several direct and indirect revenue generators, such as subscribers....When hiring, Fierce looks for editors comfortable in FierceMarkets' format, which is quick-paced and not the best fit for someone more interested in writing in-depth pieces. SEO and social media skills are now “non-negotiable” in the hiring process ― and help the company weed out about 70 percent of the applicants (though junior editors usually don't have a problem). “If you've done a blog on the side, if you have an active Twitter account, we can see that,” Bakley said.